Is There Something I Should Know?
by takenoprisoners
Summary: Manny's cousin, Julie, has come to stay with her for a while... but Manny doesn't know why. And why does she wake up in the middle of the night to hear Julie crying? What's going on? When Manny finds out, the results are shocking.
1. Chapter One

[[Note: In no way do I own Degrassi or any of its characters.]]  
  
Manny and Julie walked down the main hallway of Degrassi Community School, reading Julie's new schedule and making comments about the teachers. JT walked over with a goofy smile on his face and said, "Hello, Manny. You're looking quite lovely today. How are--" He stopped short when he caught sight of Julie. "And who is this? A newbie? It's very nice to meet you." He bowed.  
  
Julie let out a small laugh. She turned to Manny and said, "I'll, uh, see you later." She laughed once more before walking away.  
  
"So, Manny," JT began. "Who was that lovely-looking friend of yours?"  
  
Manny made sure Julie was out of earshot before replying, "My cousin... she's staying with my family for a while."  
  
"Why?" JT asked.  
  
Manny shrugged. "I'm not really sure. My parents won't tell me. It's some big secret, I guess..."  
  
"Hmm... oh well." A big smile spread across JT's face. "You said she's going to be here a while, right?"  
  
"Don't even think about it," Manny said playfully.  
  
"Too late," replied JT. He winked at Manny and walked away. Manny just smiled and then ran to catch up with Julie.  
  
*  
  
The bell rang to signal the start of another day of school at Degrassi. A few stragglers rushed into the Media Immersion Lab right before Mr. Simpson closed the door, muttering excuses and apologies.  
  
JT leaned over in his seat and nudged Sean. "So what do you think of the new girl?" He motioned the Julie.  
  
Sean stared for a second, and then replied, "I dunno. She seems sort of fake to me."  
  
"Fake?" JT looked incredulously at Sean. "How?"  
  
Sean shrugged. "Something about the way she smiles. I dunno."  
  
JT shook his head. Julie was many things, but 'fake' was certainly not one of them. There was something about this girl that was so fascinating and irresistable. He wanted to sit down and talk to her for hours.  
  
Mr. Simpson interrupted his thoughts of Julie when he called out JT's name. "Mr. Yorke, could you please at least pretend like you're paying attention?" Mr. Simpson sighed and continued with the lesson. JT pretended like he was paying attention, but really he was lost in his dreams of Julie. 


	2. Chapter Two

That night, everything at the Santos house was seemingly calm. Julie was snuggled deep in a sleeping bag next to Manny's bed, Manny's parents were in the living room talking; all was relatively quiet.  
  
Lying on her bed, Manny was wide awake. JT's question had been bugging her all day: Why was Julie here? Manny hadn't even given it a second though when her mother announced that Julie would be staying with them for a while.  
  
Manny peeked over the edge of the bed, trying to see if Julie was still awake. She was. "Hey, Jules?" Manny asked, using Julie's nickname.  
  
Julie lifted her head a little. "Yeah?" She answered sleepily.  
  
"Um, you don't have to answer this question if you don't want to... I mean, I don't want to pry or anything..." Manny bit her lip, and then continued. "Why are you here? I don't mean to sound rude, but... why?"  
  
Julie hesitated for a moment before yawning and saying, "Can we talk about this tomorrow? I'm really tired." She layed her head back down on her pillow and closed her eyes.  
  
Manny sighed and said, "Yeah, okay. Tomorrow." She closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep.  
  
*  
  
Manny woke up some time around midnight, and heard a strange sound. It took her a minute to figure out what it was: Julie was crying. Manny tried not to make any noise; she didn't want Julie to know she was awake.  
  
The crying eventually stopped, but Manny couldn't go back to sleep. This whole situation was bothering her. Why was Julie staying at her house? Why was she crying in the middle of the night? Why didn't anyone want her to know anything anymore? Manny scowled. She decided that she was going to get to the bottom of this, even if it killed her.  
  
*  
  
A few days went by. The majority of the guys at school were in love with Julie; she'd even been asked on a couple dates. The only person's invitation she'd accepted was JT's.   
  
They just went to dinner and a movie. The first stop was The Dot.   
  
"So, Julie..." JT shifted in his seat nervously. "You look really great."  
  
Julie smiled. "Thanks, JT. Again." It was the fourth time he'd told her she looked great.  
  
They had polite conversation for a while. JT asked about her home on the other side of town, Julie asked about Degrassi and some of the people who went there.  
  
Eventually it was time for the movie. They gathered up their jackets and headed over to the mall. Once they were seated inside the theater, the two of them started getting really cozy. JT put his arm around Julie and she rested her head on his shoulder. JT was grinning ear-to-ear.   
  
Once the movie was over, JT walked Julie back to Manny's house. He was reluctant to let her go inside; he never wanted the night to end.  
  
"Er, so..." he said.   
  
"Thank you for everything, JT. I had a really great time." Julie smiled. JT took a step toward her and her smile wavered. "Uh, I guess I'll see you later." She opened the door and rushed inside, leaving a bewildered JT standing on the front stoop. 


	3. Chapter Three

Over the next couple of days, Julie changed drastically. She turned into a major introvert, she avoided all guys, and she barely even talked to Manny. She was so withdrawn from everyone around her that people started worrying. But every time she was confronted about it, Julie would flash a smile and say everything was fine. Nobody could get through to her.  
  
One afternoon, Manny came home from gymnastics practice and rushed upstairs to find Julie. "Jules!" She called out. "Julie, where are you? I want to talk to you about something." Manny walked into her bedroom to find Julie wedged in a tight space between her bed and a bookcase. She was curled into a tiny ball. "Julie? What are you doing?" As Manny stepped closer, she could see tears shining on Julie's face. She could hear Julie's quick, sharp breaths. "A-a-are you okay? What's wrong?" Manny stared at Julie for a second, and then walked out of her room. She ran to the kitchen, where her mom was making dinner. Her mother looked up curiously.  
  
"Hello, sweetie. Everything okay?" Her mom raised her eyebrows.  
  
"I-I-I don't know. Julie's upstairs, and she's freaking out! She's in this little ball, and she's breathing really fast." Manny started shaking.  
  
Her mother's curious look was replaced with one of deep concern. She called for an ambulance and then rushed upstairs.  
  
Manny's father strode into the room. "What's going on?" he asked. As Manny was explaining, the ambulance arrived. They put Julie on a stretcher and carried her out of the house.  
  
"I'm going with her," Manny's mother said. "I'll be sure to call you later with the details." She ran out after the stretcher.  
  
Manny turned to her father. "What happened?" Her father didn't answer. "Why was she doing that? What was wrong with her?"  
  
"Maybe we should talk about this later," her father said. "When you're older."  
  
Manny's eyes started tearing up. "No. We're going to talk about this now. I come home to find my cousin hyperventilating on my bedroom floor, and you want to 'talk about it later'? No. Now, dad."  
  
Her father's eyes softened, and he sighed. "You're right. Sit down." He motioned to a chair. Manny wiped tears from her cheek and sat down.  
  
Her father took a deep breath and said, "Have you ever heard of incest?" 


	4. Chapter Four

It was much later that night, and Manny was lying awake in bed. Her mind was racing. Her father had explained everything to her: Julie's brother had sexually abused her for years. When Julie finally got the nerve to tell her parents, her father called her a liar and shouted about what a horrible child she was. Her mother said nothing, but started drinking heavily. Soon her parents divorced, and Julie had to live with her brother and father. Her brother continued to abuse her, and her father continued not to believe her. Julie eventually talked to a counselor at school about what had been going on, and the counselor reported it. Julie was no longer allowed to live with her brother or her father, and she didn't want to live with her mother, so she went to live with Manny's family while everything was getting sorted out. She had been really stressed lately because she didn't know what was going to happen to her brother. Despite what had happened, she still loved him very much and didn't want him to get in trouble.   
  
Manny's mother had called later, reporting that Julie had had an anxiety attack. She was now resting peacefully in the hospital, and Manny could go visit tomorrow.  
  
Manny tossed and turned all night; she didn't get a single wink of sleep. All she could think about was getting to see Julie tomorrow.  
  
*  
  
Manny slowly entered the white hospital room. Julie was lying in bed, hooked up to a bunch of tubes. She smiled.  
  
"Hey," she said.   
  
"Hey," Manny said meekly.  
  
"I'm sorry I scared you... I didn't mean to..." Julie looked away. "I guess you know all about what happened."  
  
Manny's eyes started watering. "Jules, I am so sorry that happened... it must have been horrible..."  
  
Tears were streaming down Julie's cheeks. "I wanted to tell you," she sobbed. "I wanted to so badly. But I couldn't. I just couldn't."  
  
Manny reached for Julie's hand. "I know... it's okay..." She squeezed Julie's hand.  
  
"I'm just so scared now... how can I trust anyone? What if they do what he did?"   
  
"You're safe now, Julie. He'll never touch you again. You're safe." She pulled Julie into a hug, knowing that it would take a long time for Julie to get over what happened. But she knew she wanted to be there every step of the way. 


End file.
